The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser assembly as used in the fields of perfumes, cosmetics, or indeed pharmaceuticals. In the fields of perfumes and cosmetics, dispensers or dispenser assemblies exist that are, in fact, promotional samples so that a consumer can discover a product. Such samples are generally distributed free of charge. Some such samples are included in magazines, and it is not uncommon there to be three, four, or five samples in the same magazine. The samples must therefore be of very small thickness so as not to increase the thickness of the magazine significantly. Magazines must be suitable for being stacked in the form of vertical pile, and samples contained inside them must not destabilize the pile of magazines.
To put the sample in place in the magazine, it is common to use machines in which the samples are firstly placed vertically in a feed bin. A suction-pad system takes hold of the sample situated at the bottom of the bin, and a claw system then takes over from the suction-pad system to take the sample to a pasting station and then to a pressing station so as to paste it onto a page of the magazine. In order to perform that operation of putting samples in place in magazines, it is necessary to take hold of them by means of a suction-pad system. Unfortunately, the suction-pad system can operate effectively only on a surface that is substantially plane, for reasons specific to the suction-pad technique. A suction pad cannot be applied to a surface that is totally uneven. Furthermore, it is also necessary for the samples to be of standard shape, and preferably square or rectangular, so as not to impede their positioning or movement inside the bin, nor their retention by means of the suction-pad system and subsequently by means of the claw system.
Such a dispenser assembly for use as a sample generally includes a fluid dispenser defining a fluid reservoir. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make the reservoir simultaneously both particularly flat and particularly plane. To make reservoir walls that are plane, it is possible to use a shaped-section shell that is advantageously thermoformed. Unfortunately, the thickness of the reservoir is then significant. It is also possible to make a reservoir using two flexible sheets. This considerably reduces the thickness of the reservoir, but it is then not possible to guarantee that the faces of the reservoir are plane.
Furthermore, any fluid dispenser is provided with a dispensing orifice, and, when the dispenser is for use as a sample, the dispensing orifice is often closed off by a removable closure member that can be torn off, detached, or folded back by the consumer so as to unmask the dispensing orifice. It is important that the closure member must not impede sample feeding by means of a machine equipped with a suction-cap and claw system. In other words, while remaining accessible, the removable closure member must not be able to interfere with the operation of a feed machine for taking samples and fixing them in magazines.
The problems of planeness of the faces of the reservoir, and of impediment caused by the removable closure member should not be considered to be specific to samples designed to be included in magazines. For reasons of appearance and for functional reasons, it is also advantageous for the reservoir faces to be plane so that they can bear inscriptions. In addition, it is also advantageous for the removable closure member to be protected even outside a sample, so that the removable closure member is not removed or detached accidentally.
To solve these problems, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser assembly characterized in that it comprises:
a fluid dispenser defining a substantially flat body provided with a dispensing orifice and with a removable closure member suitable for closing the dispensing orifice; and
packaging encasing the dispenser and forming an opening portion in which the removable closure member is received so that it is possible to take hold of it in order to remove it from the body, thereby unmasking the dispensing orifice.
The body of the dispenser that defines the fluid reservoir is thus covered by the packaging, and the removable closure member is protected in the opening portion so that it is almost impossible for it to constitute an impediment or encumbrance when manipulating the assembly. In addition, it is very difficult for the removable closure member to be actuated accidentally in its opening portion. The outside walls of the packaging mask the body which, although it is substantially flat, is not exactly plane. By means of this packaging, at least one plane face is obtained, and the removable closure member is protected.
In a first embodiment, the opening portion is provided with a recess in which the removable closure member is received in a manner such as to be visible. In this embodiment, the packaging forms a sort of cut-out in which the removable closure member is visible and can be grasped directly.
In a second embodiment, the opening portion encases the removable closure member at least in part. Advantageously, the opening portion is defined by at least one line of least resistance so that the opening portion can be detached, together with the removable closure member, from the remainder of the packaging. In a variant, or in addition, the opening portion is defined by at least one slot. The opening portion then covers the removable closure member which is then not necessarily entirely visible. To remove it, it suffices to take hold of the opening portion and to tear it off together with the removable closure member.
In a practical embodiment, the packaging is made up of a backing sheet and of a cover sheet, the dispenser being fixed to the backing sheet and the cover sheet being fixed to the backing sheet over the peripheries of said sheets. The backing sheet may advantageously be more rigid than the body of the dispenser, so that it is not subjected to any deformation due to the body being fixed against its inside face. Finally, once the packaging has been assembled, the backing sheet and the cover sheet are only slightly convex due to the substantially flat body of the dispenser being included between them. However, overall, the sheets are substantially plane and suitable for being picked up by means of a suction-pad system. Similarly, the fact that at least one of the two sheets is plane makes it easy for it to bear an indication such as a trademark, the ingredients, and the instructions for use of the fluid. Preferably, the backing sheet and the cover sheet are made integrally and are folded along one side. Advantageously, the recess is situated on said one side. Preferably, the removable closure member lies entirely within the opening portion. In a practical embodiment, the removable closure member is provided with a free edge that extends substantially in alignment with the connection side.
Advantageously, the dispensing orifice is situated on one edge of the opening portion, e.g. on the bottom of the recess or on the line of least resistance.
In a preferred embodiment, the body defines an actuating wall that can be pressed to drive the fluid out through the dispensing orifice, it being possible to actuate said actuating wall through the packaging.
According to another aspect of the invention, the opening portion is formed by a respective cutout of the backing and cover sheets, said cutouts over lapping when said cover sheet is disposed on the backing sheet.